JP3563886B2 - CATV system area shared block and CATV system using the block - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a two-way CATV system capable of providing a plurality of services, and more particularly, separates a multiplexed signal sent from a CATV center and reorganizes and provides such that different services can be provided for each subscriber. The present invention relates to an area common block constituting a system and a CATV system using the block.
[0002]
[Prior art]
At present, multi-channel services using optical fibers and coaxial cables are being provided using digital compression techniques such as MPEG and digital modulation techniques such as QAM and QPSK. However, in order to receive a signal transmitted from a CATV center to view a CATV broadcast, a terminal generally called a set-top converter (STC) including an MPEG decoder, a QAM demodulator, and the like is required. .
FIG. 18 shows a conceptual diagram of a conventional CATV system. In a conventional CATV system, if a subscriber wants to watch CATV on a plurality of televisions, an STC is required for each television, and the burden on the subscriber is large. Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-59072 proposes a configuration in which one CATV terminal can support a plurality of televisions by adding a unit to the CATV terminal, but the terminal is still large in scale. It will be something.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the system as shown in FIG. 18 that has been proposed up to now, if a subscriber wants to receive services on a plurality of televisions, a terminal is required for each television or a unit addition type In such a case, one terminal becomes large and the burden on the subscriber increases. In addition, since all functions are integrated in the CATV center, there is a problem that it is difficult to perform operation with a small turn for each area.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems in the conventional technology, and it is possible to improve the convenience by operating in a small turn for each region, but not to require a large-scale installation for each individual subscriber. It is an object of the present invention to reduce the burden and to provide a regional block for constructing a system with high use efficiency and a CATV system using the same.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the system of the present invention, as in the conventional system of FIG. 18, a functional block corresponding to the STC placed at each subscriber's house is taken out, and as shown in FIG. By performing switching control so that the output of one STC can be transmitted to a plurality of subscribers by sharing the plurality of subscribers in a bundle, a process that conventionally required a plurality of STCs can be reduced to a smaller number of STCs. It can be performed by a common area block provided with.
[0005]
In a single home, if a subscriber wants to watch CATV on multiple TVs, but has TVs in different places such as the living room and dining room, watch CATV on both TVs simultaneously. It is considered that there is not much, and as in the present system, the STC is used in common and an empty STC is used, so that the STC usage efficiency can be increased and the number of STCs can be reduced.
[0006]
In addition, by transmitting the video, audio and data required by each subscriber to an empty channel of the television signal and transmitting them, the subscriber's home can view the CATV simply by installing a simple receiver for each television. Only part of the cost of the STC need be paid by the subscriber side, and the burden on the subscriber when the CATV service is received by a plurality of devices is smaller than before.
[0007]
In addition, CATV operators are encouraged to use CATV, so it is expected that collection fees from subscribers will increase. Furthermore, the common facilities enable services close to the area to be provided, and important facilities are concentrated in the CATV center and the common facilities, so that maintenance becomes easy.
[0008]
As described above, the present invention seeks to reduce the cost of CATV equipment and subscriber terminals, expand service contents, and improve the maintainability, expandability, and security of the system. Each invention is constituted.
[0009]
A first aspect of the present invention provides a separating unit for separating various multiplexed signals such as video, audio, and data transmitted from a CATV center, an analog demodulator, a digital demodulator, or a digital demodulator and a compression digital decoder. A plurality of converting means for converting each signal separated by the separating means by the separating means to extract video, audio, and data, an upstream signal decoding unit, and a subscriber signal from the upstream signal decoding unit. Program distribution A switching means for switching the connection between the plurality of conversion means and the subscriber line in response to the request; and a television signal switched and connected by the switching means and transmitted to the subscriber at a predetermined plurality of available channel frequencies. The conversion means includes an RF modulator for modulating, and the converting means digitally demodulates, for example, a QPSK modulation signal or a QAM modulation signal included in a signal from a CATV center, and then decodes a compressed digital signal to decode the original video / audio. The signal is taken out, and the switching means converts the video / audio signal taken out by the conversion means into a predetermined free channel by RF, connects to the requested subscriber line, and transmits it to the subscriber. is there.
[0010]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a telephone I / F is provided as an additional element so as to handle a telephone number, and a signal from the telephone I / F is modulated by the RF modulator. A signal that is mixed with a signal and transmitted to each subscriber's home via a single cable, and a simple receiver such as a TV or telephone is prepared so that the subscriber can exchange necessary information without being aware of the network. It is.
[0011]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, when the broadcast requested by a subscriber has already been converted by the converting means and connected to another subscriber, the switching means is provided. Is connected to the other subscribers to increase the efficiency of use of the conversion means.
[0013]
Claim 4 The invention of claim The invention according to any one of 1 to 3, further comprising a database of subscribers as an additional element. The database stores data on whether or not each program can be viewed by the subscriber. If the data is a request from an authorized subscriber based on this data, the program is supplied to the subscriber line and the program is prohibited. In this case, a connection method is adopted so as not to supply in the case.
[0014]
Claim 5 The invention of claim 1 4 In any one of the inventions described above, the analog and digital free broadcast signals separated by the separating means from the signals transmitted from the CATV center are extracted by the RF modulator extracted by the converting means in accordance with a request from a subscriber. Modulated television signals and / or telephone signals are mixed and transmitted to a subscriber line.
[0015]
Claim 6 The invention of claim 5 In the invention, the television signal extracted by the conversion means is mixed into a predetermined channel band of the analog free broadcast signal.
[0016]
Claim 7 The invention of claim 1 6 In any one of the inventions described above, the plurality of conversion means are constituted by a combination of dedicated converters for satellite digital broadcasting, digital CATV, analog CATV, cable modem, and ISDN, thereby improving the economical efficiency and flexibility of the system. It is intended to be improved.
[0017]
Claim 8 The invention of claim 1 to claim 1 7 In any one of the inventions, the converting means is a card type, or Housing It is a body plug-in type that facilitates changing the number and type of the means.
[0018]
Claim 9 The invention of claim 1 to claim 1 8 In any one of the inventions, Additional As an additional element Recording the program extracted by the conversion means Comprising a storage means, from the storage means Program to subscribers To provide a local video-on-demand function.
[0022]
Claim 10 The invention of claim 9 In the invention, a bit stream from the same television signal is stored in a plurality of locations of the storage means so as to be able to respond to requests from a plurality of subscribers.
[0023]
Claim 11 The invention of claim 9 or 10 In the invention of Calculate the audience rating for each broadcast program from the number of subscribers who watched, and select the program with the highest audience rating for the next broadcast Storing is preferentially performed so that the capacity of the storing means can be saved and the trend of the subscriber can be adjusted.
[0024]
Claim 12 The invention of claim 9 or 10 The invention, the subscriber Favorite programs, hobbies, preferences, etc. Pre-registration To do Thus, the data can be stored in the storage means.
[0025]
Claim Thirteen The invention of claim 1 to claim 1 12 In the invention of any one of the above, as a function of managing the assignment of the converting means to the subscriber line by the switching means, If there is no unused conversion means at the time of request from the subscriber, in addition to connecting, if there is no unused conversion means, the used conversion means becomes empty based on the broadcast end time of the program. Until the rest Taking into account the usage time and the like, a function is added that can report to the subscriber how long the conversion means is available.
[0026]
Claim 14 The invention of claim Thirteen In the invention of the above, when the conversion means is full, the subscriber can make a reservation for use of the conversion means, and when it becomes usable, a function of reporting the report to the subscriber is further added. Things.
[0027]
Claim Fifteen The invention of claim 1 14 In the invention of any one of the above, as a function of managing the assignment of the converting means to the subscriber line by the switching means, Said Conversion means The priority when assigning is determined in advance, and if there is no space in the conversion means at the time of a request from the user, the user with a higher priority according to the priority set by the user is A function of managing the conversion means so that it can be used is added.
[0028]
Claim 16 The invention of claim 1 Fifteen In the invention of any one of the first to third aspects, the function of managing the assignment of the conversion means to the subscriber line by the switching means may be a pay-per-view operation for a plurality of subscribers. For subscribers who want to watch the same program, pay-per-view is shared by multiple subscribers by connecting to the same converter means, and the fee per viewer is calculated based on the number of viewers. It adds a function to manage services so that they can receive services at a low fee.
[0029]
Claim 17 The invention of claim 1 provides each subscriber's house with a transmission line for each subscriber, 16 And the common use block of the CATV system according to any one of the above is connected in a 1: 1 star type, and the band of each RF modulator in the common use block connected to the transmission line provided for each subscriber is shared. The system is simplified by converting a television signal transmitted to all subscribers into a specific channel band signal.
[0030]
Claim 18 The invention of claim 1 to claim 1 16 In the case where a plurality of unit area shared blocks are connected in parallel by using the area shared block of the system according to any one of the above as a unit and access to one unit area shared block exceeds an allowable number, another area shared block is connected. The system is configured to be usable.
[0031]
Claim 19 The invention of claim 1 to claim 1 16 In the CATV system according to any one of (1) to (3), an ID is assigned to each of the regional shared blocks, so that information can be easily delivered in units of the regional shared blocks.
[0032]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the entire CATV system of the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 101 denotes a CATV center, which is a video-on-demand (hereinafter, abbreviated as VOD, VOD is a program distribution system when a specific program distribution request from a specific subscriber is requested. As one of the two-way service forms to be started), digital CATV signals such as 64 QAM-modulated compressed digital signals stored in a video server, QPSK modulated signals of satellite digital broadcasting, existing UHF / VHF analog CATV signals, Various signals such as a cable modem signal, a telephone signal, and an ISDN signal are multiplexed by the multiplexing unit 102 and transmitted to the transmission line 103. The transmission path 103 may be an optical fiber or a coaxial cable.
[0033]
Reference numeral 104 denotes a common area block installed between the CATV center and the subscriber's house. In the case of an apartment house, it may be located in the apartment house. In the area shared block, the signal transmitted on the transmission line 103 is extracted by the distribution / mixing unit 105 for each converter and supplied to the converters 1 to N, and the free broadcast 106 is extracted. The free broadcast 106 is mainly an existing analog broadcast, but in the case of a digital broadcast, it may be converted into an analog television signal.
[0034]
Each of the converters 1 to N may have a function for decompressing all modulation and compression signals multiplexed on the input signal. However, as shown in FIG. 3, as an example of a common area block constituting a system basically the same as FIG. 2, it can be decompressed for satellite digital broadcasting, digital CATV, analog CATV, cable modem, ISDN, etc. If a dedicated converter with limited signals is used, the converter itself becomes cheaper, and the number of converters can be adjusted according to the increase in subscribers and the demand for each service. And a highly flexible system can be constructed.
For this reason, the converter can be a detachable card type or a plug-in type to the housing, and can be expanded according to the usage situation. It should be noted that since there are many converters having the same function, if one converter fails, a system that is resistant to failure can be obtained by accessing another converter having the same function.
[0035]
FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a converter for a digital CATV, for example, a service that is digitally modulated and transmitted after being compressed by MPEG or the like. The input signal 118 is demodulated by the digital modulation / demodulation unit 301, and then returned to the video and audio signals by the compression digital decoding unit 302.
Further, the compressed digital decoding unit 302 extracts application data and the like inserted into the input signal, and the control unit 303 uses these application data and a command from the subscriber passed from the CPU 109 in FIG. Generate a graphic screen for
The television signal generation unit 304 mixes the video and audio signals and the graphic signals, converts them into the NTSC or PAL format, and outputs them.
Note that the upstream signal encoding unit 305 receives the upstream signal from the subscriber via the CPU 109 and converts the information required on the CATV center 101 side, such as a command at the time of VOD, from the subscriber into the upstream signal again. The signal is mixed by the distribution / mixing unit 105 in FIG. 2 and returned to the CATV center. However, there is no need to return the signal to the CATV center 101 as it is, and the configuration of the converter is not limited to FIG. . Further, for satellite broadcasting, for analog CATV, for cable modem, and for ISDN, there are some which are different from those in FIG. 4 depending on the respective transmission modes and service contents.
[0036]
In FIG. 2, the telephone signal is received by the telephone I / F 108 from the distribution / mixing unit 105, and is mixed into each subscriber line 116 via the switching circuit 110. To the subscriber house 117, a cable 116 is drawn from the shared area block to each subscriber house in a star shape. If a coaxial cable is used for the cable 116, the equipment cost can be reduced, but it can also be constituted by an optical fiber.
In the uplink channel decoder 115, a request signal of each subscriber is extracted from the signal passed through the distributor 114. The subscriber database 111 stores information about the subscriber, and the CPU 109 can switch the switching circuit 110 based on a request signal from the subscriber, information in the subscriber database 111, and the like. The switching is such that if the requested broadcast is already connected to another subscriber through the converter 107, then the requesting subscriber will also go to the converter output for connection. In this way, even for a program with a high audience rating, the shortage of the converter 107 does not occur, the usage efficiency is improved, and a converter for another subscriber to access another program can be left. The number of converters can be reduced.
[0037]
FIG. 5 shows an example of information stored in the subscriber database, which is rewritten each time a connection is changed or a contract is changed. The “subscriber ID” is an ID assigned to each subscriber, the “in-use converter ID” is an ID indicating a converter currently connected to the subscriber's home, and the “viewing program ID” is a currently viewed program ID. The ID indicating the program in question, "permitted program ID", is the ID of the program that the subscriber is permitted to view and does not connect the switching circuit even if there is a request from the subscriber other than the program permitted here. This eliminates the need to scramble the broadcast itself, and eliminates the need to add a descrambling function to the CATV terminal of the subscriber.
[0038]
FIG. 6 shows an example of a flow at the time of a program request from a subscriber. When the program X is requested from the subscriber P, the subscriber P is checked whether or not the viewing of the program X is permitted by referring to the "permitted program ID" column of the subscriber P in the database (step S1). S0) If the service is permitted, it is determined from the program ID whether or not the service of the program X is VOD (step S1). If not, the process ends without doing anything (step S8).
In step S1, if the program X is not VOD, it is checked in order for all the subscribers (No. 1 to M) whether the program X matches the "viewing program ID" (steps S2 and S3). If they match, the converter in the "converter ID in use" column of the matching subscriber is connected to the designated RF modulator of the subscriber P (step S4).
If the program X is VOD in step S1, or if all of the subscriber IDs have been checked up to number M in step S2 and they do not match, it means that no subscriber has already watched program X. An unused converter is searched (step S5). If there is no unused converter, the process is terminated (step S8). It is also possible to wait for a few seconds to a few minutes in order to wait for the converter to be empty, and then search for an unused converter again.
If an unused converter L is found in step S5, the converter L is connected to the RF modulator specified by the subscriber (step S6). Next, the item of the subscriber P in the subscriber database is updated according to the connection method of steps S4 and S6 (step S7), and the process is terminated (step S8).
In the database of FIG. 5, the subscriber ID Nos. 1 and 4 are connected to the same converter, and the subscriber ID No. 2 indicates that two programs are viewed using two converters. I have.
[0039]
In addition, a pay service called pay-per-view (PPV), which is broadcast at a fixed broadcast time and charged when viewing, can be provided at a low fee by sharing the PPV among a plurality of subscribers. It may be. FIG. 7 shows an example of the flow in this case, and the same processes as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same step numbers.
If the program X requested by the subscriber in the flow of FIG. 7 is not a VOD service in step S1, then it is determined whether or not the program is a PPV service (step S9). If not, the process proceeds directly to step S2 described above. . Here, in the case of PPV, the number of viewers of the program X is incremented by one (step S10, the initial value is set to 0). If the fee per viewer is calculated based on the final number of viewers obtained by counting in this way, the user can watch the PPV at a low price. Access is facilitated.
[0040]
In the method of FIG. 6 described above, the converter allocation is managed only by whether or not the converter is empty. However, the remaining time until the converter is empty is calculated, and how long the subscriber waits is calculated. The ability to report if the converter will be available and, furthermore, the ability to subscribe to the use of the converter will greatly improve the usability. FIG. 8 shows this flowchart. The same processes as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same step numbers.
In the flow of FIG. 8, if the process proceeds to step S11 in the same procedure as in FIG. 6, if the converter has already been reserved, the process proceeds to step S12. If the search finds an unused converter, it reports the connection to the subscriber P (step S17) and connects the converter to the subscriber (step S6). If there is no unused converter, the process also proceeds to step S12.
Next, a converter is searched for a converter having the shortest time from empty to empty, excluding converters already reserved (step S12), and the waiting time is reported to the subscriber (step S13). Next, the subscriber is inquired as to whether or not to reserve the converter searched in step S12 (step S14). If a reservation is made, the reservation is registered (step S15), and if no reservation is made, the process ends (step S8).
After performing the reservation registration process (step S15), the process enters a wait state and waits for the input of a wait release signal (step S16). Separately from this, when the program end signal of the subscriber Q (supposed to be connected to the converter G) is inputted, the converter G is disconnected from the line of the subscriber Q (step S18), and here, step S16 is performed. Sends a wait release signal to Next, the database of the subscriber Q is updated (step S19), and the processing of the subscriber Q ends (step S20).
In step S16, if the reservation on standby at the time when the wait release signal is input is the turn of the subscriber P, the converter G is found (step S11), and the subscriber P is notified that the converter is to be connected. (Step S17), this is connected to the line of the subscriber P (Step S6).
[0041]
In this example, if a converter without reservation is vacant before a converter that is reserved, that converter is used. Need to be updated.
FIG. 9 is a diagram exemplifying a state of registration of a reservation converter for explaining a method of handling a reservation. (A) is a method of sequentially allocating converters from the earliest time when a reservation is input. (B) shows an operation of a method in which L1 to L3 levels are provided for converter usage rights according to differences in charges, and converters are allocated from reservations with high priority.
In the lower part of FIG. 9B, when the reservation 4 (level L2) is input (arrow I), the level is higher than the already input reservations 1 (level L3) and 3 (level L3). Is high and at the same level as reservation 2, so that it is positioned next to reservation 2. Further, when the reservation 5 (level L1) is input (arrow II), the reservation is located at the top because the level is higher than the reservations 1 to 4 up to that time.
In this way, by setting several levels of converter usage rights according to the difference in charge and by performing management so that the converter can be used preferentially, the charge may be somewhat higher, so the converter is urgent anyway. It is possible to flexibly deal with a subscriber who wants to use.
[0042]
The transmission method to the subscriber is as follows. In FIG. 2, three RF modulators (A, B, C) 112 are provided for each subscriber, and the output of the converter 107 connected by the switching circuit 110 is modulated into an RF signal. The mixer 113 mixes the RF signal 120 with the free broadcast 106 and the telephone signal 119.
FIG. 10 shows an example of frequency allocation, in which signals modulated by RF modulators A, B, and C are inserted into available channels A, B, and C of free analog broadcasting, respectively. In this way, at the subscriber's home, three pay broadcasts can be watched on each of the three televisions simply by installing only a simple receiver, which will be described later, for each television. However, even if the number of accesses to the common area block exceeds the allowable number, only the worst free broadcasting can be seen.
[0043]
Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the transmission path from the common area block to each subscriber is drawn in a star shape, so that the system can be easily configured with frequency allocation as shown in FIG. In the case of a tree type in which one transmission line from a block is shared by a plurality of subscribers, it is necessary to change an available channel band used for each subscriber.
Although the number of RF modulators is three for each subscriber, the number may be increased or decreased according to a contract with each subscriber. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which are mixed by switching. Further, in FIG. 2, the extracted free broadcast is mixed at the time of transmission to the subscriber line, but the free broadcast may be transmitted via the converter.
[0044]
FIG. 11 is an example of a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a receiver. When Menu is selected by the remote controller 701, the receiver tunes to a specific channel (one-to-one correspondence with the RF modulator of the common area block) allocated in advance. After the IR signal from the remote controller 701 is received by the remote control receiving circuit 702 and decoded by the CPU 703, the signal is subjected to, for example, QPSK modulation by the upstream signal modulator 704 and inserted into the upstream channel by the splitter 705.
As described above, the receiver required at the subscriber's house is much simpler than the conventionally required subscriber terminal, and the load is light when connecting a plurality of video devices, and the installation space is not taken up.
[0045]
As shown in FIG. 12, the common blocks can be connected in parallel, and when the access from the subscriber belonging to a certain common block exceeds the allowable number, the service can be provided via another common block. By doing so, the stability of the system is further increased.
FIG. 13 shows an example of the configuration of an area common block that can be connected in parallel. The regional common blocks A and B are connected by a cable 901 connecting the CPU and a plurality of other local common block input / output cables 902 connecting the switching circuits. When the CPU 903 determines that there is no free space in the converter of the regional shared block B in response to a request from the subscriber P belonging to the regional shared block B, the program desired by the subscriber P to the regional shared block A is provided. Necessary information is sent to the CPU 904 of the common area block A via the cable 901 to supply the information. The CPU 904 searches for an appropriate converter H by the processing of FIG. 6 described above, and switches the switching circuit 905 to an appropriate other area shared block output. Also in the local common block B, the switching circuit 906 is switched to another local common block input in which the signal for the subscriber P from the local common block A is input, so that the subscriber P's home can be requested by using the converter of the local common block A. Can provide programs.
[0046]
In addition, by setting an ID for each common area block, information can be delivered in units of common area blocks without using a special terminal on the subscriber side, and processing on the CATV center side is also simplified.
FIG. 14 shows this flow. In step S0, even if the information to which the regional shared block ID (here, X) is added from the CATV is transmitted over a plurality of regional shared blocks, the information with ID is received by each of the regional shared blocks in step S2. In step S3, it is checked whether or not the ID matches the ID (here, Y) assigned to the own area shared block. If they match, in step S4, the information added with X is mixed with a specific vacant channel and transmitted to the subscribing subscriber, and in step S5, the subscriber uses this vacant channel to view it as it is. If they do not match, the process waits at step S1 for the CATV center to transmit the information with the ID again.
[0047]
In FIG. 15, a local VOD service can be provided by providing a large-capacity disk 151 in a shared area block. In this case, if the system is equipped with a learning function to accumulate programs that are viewed most frequently, discs with limited programs such as news and sports according to the trend (preference) of subscribers in the area can be used effectively. You can always see it.
FIG. 16 shows an example of the processing. At the end of the month, the monthly audience rating of each ordinary broadcast program is calculated (step S1), the programs from the one with the highest audience rating to the N programs are listed up (step S2), and the N programs listed first during the broadcasting of the following month Is stored in the disk of the local VOD (step S3), and the local VOD of the N programs is provided to the subscriber (step S4).
[0048]
In addition, by adding a fast-forward function that allows audio to be identified, the viewing time can be reduced. Further, if the subscriber registers in advance a favorite program or a hobby, a preference, etc., the program can be automatically extracted from the program and stored in a disk, thereby enriching the service contents.
FIG. 17 shows an example of the processing. When the subscriber has applied for and registered a favorite program in advance (step S1), a program that matches the subscriber's request is listed up from the programs scheduled to be broadcasted in step S2 (step S2), and the program listed up at the time of broadcasting is displayed in the local VOD. (Step S3), and provide the subscriber with the local VOD of this program (step S4).
[0049]
【The invention's effect】
Effect of Claim 1: At a subscriber's house, different broadcasts can be viewed on a plurality of televisions simply by attaching a simple receiver to a television connected to a CATV network, and the cost and installation space can be reduced. Furthermore, maintenance is easy because important installations are fixed in the CATV center and the common area block. Further, when a certain converter fails, another converter having the same function can cope with the failure, so that the converter is resistant to failure.
[0050]
Effect of Claim 2: In addition to the effect of Claim 1, the subscriber can receive the telephone service without being conscious of the network.
[0051]
Effect of Claim 3: In addition to the effect of Claim 1 or 2, there is no shortage of converters even in a program with a high audience rating, and one converter is shared by a plurality of subscribers, so that the usage efficiency is high. Also, converters for other subscribers to access different programs and services can be stored, so that the number of converters can be reduced and capital investment can be reduced.
[0053]
Effect of Claim 4: The above claim In addition to the first to third effects, intelligent switching can be performed while referring to the subscriber database. Also, Since pay broadcasts do not need to be scrambled, the processing at the CATV center is simplified. Furthermore, it is not necessary to provide the terminal installed at the subscriber's home with the descrambling function, and the cost is reduced.
[0054]
Claim 5 Effect: Claim 1 or above 4 In addition to the above effects, in the worst case, even if the number of subscribers accessing the common area block exceeds the allowable number, only digital and analog free broadcasts can be viewed. In addition, even if there is a television without a receiver at the subscriber's house, digital and analog free broadcasts can be viewed.
[0055]
Claim 6 Effects: Claims above 5 In addition to the effect of the above, the addition of a simple process of taking out the analog free broadcast band and putting the program from the converter into the free channel, worst case, when the subscriber's access to the shared block exceeds the allowable number But you can only watch analog free broadcasts. In addition, even if there is a television without a receiver at the subscriber's house, analog free broadcasting can be viewed.
[0056]
Claim 7 Effect: Claim 1 or above 6 In addition to the effect described above, each converter itself becomes inexpensive. In addition, since the number of converters can be adjusted according to the increase or decrease in the number of subscribers and the demand for each service, the system can be easily changed, the waste of equipment is reduced, and a highly flexible system can be constructed.
[0057]
Claim 8 Effect: Claim 1 or above 7 In addition to the effects described above, the system can be easily expanded according to the usage status.
[0058]
Claim 9 Effect: Claim 1 or above 8 In addition to the above-mentioned effect, since a local video-on-demand function can be added by providing storage means in the area shared block, circulation of useful information for the area can be easily performed.
[0062]
Claim 10 Effects: Claims above 9 In addition to the effect of the above, the local VOD of the area shared block can be requested by a plurality of subscribers.
[0063]
Claim 11 Effects: Claims above 9 or 10 In addition to the effects described above, local VOD operation reflecting the viewer's trends (preferences) can be performed by effectively using limited disks.
[0064]
Claim 12 Effects: Claims above 9 or 10 In addition to the above effects, subscribers can register their favorite programs, hobbies, preferences, etc. in advance and automatically extract them from the programs and store them on the disk. Service can be provided.
[0065]
Claim Thirteen Effect: Claim 1 or above 12 In addition to the effects of the above, letting the subscriber know the waiting time allows the subscriber to decide what to do next depending on how long the converter can be used.
[0066]
Claim 14 Effects: Claims above Thirteen In addition to the effect of the above, by making a reservation even when there is no free space in the converter, it is free from the trouble of frequently accessing until the space becomes available.
[0067]
Claim Fifteen Effect: Claim 1 or above 14 In addition to the above-mentioned effects, it is possible to flexibly respond to subscribers who want to receive services as soon as possible.
[0068]
Claim 16 Effect: Claim 1 or above Fifteen In addition to the effects of the above, subscribers will be able to see PPV cheaper.
[0069]
Claim 17 Effect: Claim 1 or above 16 In addition to the effects described above, the system can be easily configured by connecting the common area block and each subscriber's house in a one-to-one manner and setting the TV signal to a predetermined common specific channel band.
[0070]
Claim 18 Effect: Claim 1 or above 16 In addition to the effects of the above, even when the number of accesses to a certain common block exceeds the allowable number, the service desired by the subscriber can be supplied, so that the stability of the system increases. Further, since it is not necessary to take a large margin for the number of accesses for each common area block, capital investment can be reduced.
[0071]
Claim 19 Effect: Claim 1 or above 16 In addition to the effect of the above, utilizing the features of the system that enables the broadcast to be managed in units of regional blocks, the broadcast program from the center can be transmitted to an extremely small area, that is, some designated regional blocks (for example, 1 unit = approximately 30 units). Provide a system that can receive only the number of TV units (about 10-30 homes), and in a home that has a TV belonging to the local block, broadcasts specific to the area, ie, elementary school athletic meet and residents' association activity report etc. It is possible to receive without a special receiving device (descrambler). It can also be used as a new marketing tool, such as community-based commercials. Delivery of information in units of the area shared block can be performed by the subscriber without using a special terminal, and processing on the CATV center side is also simplified.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the concept of a CATV system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the entire CATV system of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment using a dedicated converter in the area shared block of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a converter in an area shared block according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a subscriber database in the area shared block of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a switching flow in the area shared block of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an embodiment in the case of setting a charge for sharing a PPV in the regional shared block of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an embodiment in a case where a reservation function is provided in the area shared block of the present invention.
9 is a diagram illustrating a method of handling a reservation when performing the reservation function of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of frequency allocation of a subscriber line in a shared area block according to the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a receiver attached to a subscriber device in the area shared block of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the parallel connection of the regional shared blocks in the regional shared block of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a parallel configuration of the regional common block in the regional common block of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an embodiment of delivery in a unit of a community block in the community block of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which a local VOD is performed in a shared area block in the shared area block of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing of local VOD based on audience rating in a regional shared block according to the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of processing of a local VOD by pre-registration of a subscriber in an area shared block according to the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration showing a concept of a conventional CATV system.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... CATV center, 102 ... Multiplexing unit, 103 ... Transmission line, 104 ... Common area block, 105 ... Distribution / mixing unit, 106 ... Free broadcasting, 107 ... Converter, 108 ... Telephone I / F, 109, 703, 903 , 904 CPU, 110, 905, 906 switching circuit, 111 subscriber database, 112 RF modulator, 113 mixer, 114 distributor, 115 uplink channel decoder, 116 subscriber cable, 117 Subscriber home, 118 ... Converter input signal, 119 ... Telephone signal, 120 ... RF modulation signal, 151 ... Large capacity disk, 301 ... Digital modulation / demodulation unit, 302 ... Compression digital decoding unit, 303 ... Control unit, 304 ... TV Signal generation unit, 701 remote control, 702 remote control reception circuit, 704 uplink signal modulation unit, 705 Puritta, 901 ... cable, 902 ... input and output cables.

Claims (19)

Separating means for separating various multiplexed signals such as video, audio and data transmitted from a CATV center, and an analog demodulator, a digital demodulator, or a digital demodulator and a compressed digital decoder as element means. A plurality of converting means for converting each signal separated by the separating means to extract video, audio, and data, an upstream signal decoding unit, and sequentially responding to a subscriber program distribution request from the upstream signal decoding unit; Switching means for switching the connection between the plurality of conversion means and the subscriber line; and an RF modulator switched and connected by the switching means for modulating a television signal transmitted to the subscriber at a plurality of predetermined free channel frequencies. An area sharing block for a CATV system, comprising: A telephone I / F section is provided as an additional element so that a telephone number can be handled, and a signal from the telephone I / F section is mixed with a television signal modulated by the RF modulator and transmitted to each subscriber's home via a single cable. 2. The CATV system according to claim 1, wherein the subscriber can exchange necessary information without being aware of the network by preparing a simple receiver such as a TV and a telephone for transmission. block. When the broadcast requested by the subscriber has already been converted by the conversion means and connected to another subscriber, the switching means connects the output of the conversion means to the other subscriber and converts the output to the other subscriber. 3. The area shared block of a CATV system according to claim 1, wherein the use efficiency of said area is enhanced. A database of subscribers is provided as an additional element, and data on whether or not each program can be viewed by the subscriber is stored in the database , and if a request from a permitted subscriber is made based on this data, the database is connected to the subscriber line. the requested program is supplied, the region shared block of claims 1 to 3 CATV system as claimed in any one of to, characterized in that it has to take the connection method not supplied if it is prohibited. A television signal modulated by the RF modulator and / or a free analog and digital broadcast signal separated by the separation means from signals transmitted from the CATV center by the conversion means according to a request from a subscriber. claims 1 to areas shared block of CATV system as claimed in any one of the 4, characterized in that so as to transmit to the subscriber line by mixing the telephone signal. 6. The block according to claim 5 , wherein the television signal extracted by the conversion means is mixed into a predetermined channel band of the analog free broadcast signal. The plurality of conversion means are constituted by a combination of dedicated converters for satellite digital broadcasting, digital CATV, analog CATV, cable modem, and ISDN, thereby improving the economy and flexibility of the system. The area shared block of a CATV system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein The card-type the conversion means, or local shared of claims 1 to 7 CATV system as claimed in any one of the plug-in housing, characterized in that to facilitate the change of the number and type of the means block. A storage means for recording the program extracted by the conversion means as an additional element, and a program is supplied to the subscriber from the storage means to add a local video-on-demand function. The common area block of the CATV system according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein: 10. The area shared block of the CATV system according to claim 9 , wherein bit streams from the same television signal are stored in a plurality of places of said storage means so as to be able to respond to requests from a plurality of subscribers. The rating of each broadcast program is calculated from the number of subscribers who have viewed the program, and programs with a high rating are preferentially stored at the time of the next broadcast, so that the capacity of the storage means can be saved and adjusted to the trend of the subscriber. The block according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the block is a common use area of a CATV system. 11. The block according to claim 9, wherein said program is stored in said storage means by pre-registering a favorite program, a hobby, a preference, and the like of a subscriber. As a function of managing the assignment of the converting means to the subscriber line by the switching means , in addition to connecting the unused converting means if there is a request from the subscriber, when there is no unused converting means, Is a function capable of reporting to the subscriber how long the conversion means is available based on the broadcast end time of the program, taking into account the remaining use time until the conversion means being used becomes available. claims 1, characterized in that so as to add to 12 local shared block of CATV system as claimed in any one of. When the conversion means is full, the subscriber can make a reservation for use of the conversion means, and when the conversion means becomes available, a function of reporting the report to the subscriber is further added. 14. The shared block for a CATV system according to claim 13 . As management of allocation to the subscriber line of the conversion means by said switching means, said determined in advance the priority in allocating the conversion means, if there is no free of the conversion means at a request from the user, CATV as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14 from a user higher priority according to the user of the set priority, characterized in that so as to add a function to manage so as to use the conversion means Community block for the system. As a function of managing the assignment of the conversion means to the subscriber line by the switching means, a plurality of subscribers who wish to view the same pay-per-view program by connecting to the same converter means to join a plurality of subscribers. The feature is to add a function to manage the service so that the service can be received at a low fee by sharing the pay-per-view with the viewer and calculating the charge per viewer based on the number of viewers 16. The common area block of a CATV system according to claim 1, wherein By providing a transmission line for each subscriber, each subscriber's home is connected to the area shared block of the CATV system according to any one of claims 1 to 16 in a 1: 1 star type and provided for each subscriber. The system is simplified by standardizing the band of each RF modulator in the common area block connected to the transmission line and converting the television signal transmitted to all subscribers to a specific channel band signal. CATV system. 17. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of unit area shared blocks are connected in parallel with each other as a unit of the area shared block of the system according to any one of claims 1 to 16 , and an access to one unit area shared block exceeds an allowable number. CATV system characterized in that the system is configured to be able to use the common block of the region. In the CATV system according to any one of claims 1 to 16 , a system having a plurality of regional shared blocks is provided with an ID for each regional shared block, so that delivery of information in units of regional shared blocks can be easily performed. CATV system characterized by the above-mentioned.

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